Vector-borne transmission of Besnoitia besnoiti by blood-sucking and secretophagous flies: epidemiological and clinicopathological implications

Dipteran flies play significant role in disease transmission to human, domestic and wild animals. The distribution and diversity of dipteran flies of medical and veterinary importance in Old Oyo national park and its significant importance were assessed in relation to altitude and ecology. Twelve Nzi traps were set at 50 m equidistance to capture dipteran flies between February and August 2019. A total of 1529 dipteran flies belonging to five families were captured. More dipteran flies (64.9%) were trapped during the dry season than wet season (35.1%) (X2 = 270.8; P < 0.0001; OR = 3.41). Of the total flies caught, 289 representing 18.9% were identified as haematophagus flies. Differences in the total haematophagus fly 2 abundance was not significant across the altitudinal levels (X2 = 0.432; P = 0.511; OR = 1.13). The relative apparent density (RAD) of 0.47, 0.22, 0.13, 0.09, 0.07 and 0.03 (flies/trap/day) was observed in Glossina, Hippobosca, Tabanus, Haematopota, Chrysops, Ancala and, respectively. The diversity index of 0.55 and 0.76 were determined for Glossina spp. and Tabanids respectively. The non-blood sucking flies in order of abundance are Musca domestica (43.6%), Fanniacanicularis (41.9%), Chrysomyia bezziana (8.9%), Lucilia sericata (5.6%). If the value-chain of ecotourism is to be promoted in the park, vector-borne arthropods need to be controlled through the use of integrated methods. Keywords: Ecological survey, haematophagus flies, Old Oyo national Park, RAD

Download Full-text

Larvicidal Activity of Elytraria acaulis against Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases ◽

10.18502/jad.v14i3.4563 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Soorya Sukumaran ◽

Rajan Maheswaran

Keyword(s):

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Larvicidal Activity ◽

Culex Quinquefasciatus ◽

Probit Analysis ◽

Human Beings ◽

Vector Borne Diseases ◽

Blood Sucking ◽

Leaf Powder ◽

Vector Borne ◽

Chemical Pesticides

Background: Mosquitoes are blood sucking arthropods and serve as vectors of many diseases causing serious health problems to human beings. Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti were responsible for Filariasis and Dengue. Synthetic pesticides were effective against mosquitoes as well as main sources of environmental pollution and most of them are immunosuppressant. Botanicals were widely used as insecticides, growth disruptors, repellents, etc. The aim of this research was to determine larvicidal properties of powdered leaf, Elytraria acaulis against late third or early fourth instar larvae of Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti. Methods: Larvae of Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti were tested at various concentrations of 100, 120, 140, 160, 180 and 200mg/100ml and mortality was recorded after 24h. The LC50 values of the E. acaulis leaf powder were calculated by Probit analysis. Results: The plant powder exhibited strong larvicidal activity against Cx. quinquefasciatus with LC50 value of 116.07mg/100ml against Ae. aegypti 124.25mg/100ml respectively. The result indicated that the plant powder of E. acaulis showed potential larvicidal activity against Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti. Conclusion: The overall findings of the present investigation suggested that the E. acaulis highly effective against Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti larvae. Elytraria acaulis may be used as an alternative to synthetic chemical pesticides for control of vectors to reduce vector borne diseases and did not harm to total environment.

Download Full-text

Regression mathematical modeling of the population of mouse-like rodents, hosts of blood-sucking arthropods in the Non-Black Earth Zone by the example of the Kaluga Region

Russian Journal of Parasitology ◽

10.31016/1998-8435-2021-15-3-54-63 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 54-63

Author(s):

F. I. Vasilevich ◽

A. M. Nikanorova ◽

V. V. Kalmykov ◽

A. I. Selyutina

Keyword(s):

Mathematical Modeling ◽

Small Mammals ◽

Atmospheric Pressure ◽

Ixodid Ticks ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Vector Borne Diseases ◽

Blood Sucking ◽

Two Factors ◽

Vector Borne ◽

Kaluga Region

The purpose of the research is a regression mathematical modeling of the population of small mammals, hosts of ixodid ticks in the Kaluga Region, which allows assessing the likelihood of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases.Materials and methods. For 10 years (from 2009 to 2019), a 2k multifactorial experiment was performed in the field by the method of V. V. Kalmykov (2016). The study object was mouse-like rodents that are the most common in the Kaluga Region. Rodents were counted by standard methods using techniques of V. N. Shnitnikov (1929), P. B. Yurgenson (1934) and A. N. Formozov (1937). The generally accepted steel spring traps were used. Animals were counted throughout all habitats.Results and discussion. Regression mathematical models of the mouse-like rodent population were obtained depending on the average monthly temperature, precipitation and atmospheric pressure for the year in the Non-Black Earth Zone by the example of the Kaluga Region. The specific nature of the obtained analytical model is that the greatest influence on the population of small mammals is made by the interaction effect of two factors, temperature and atmospheric pressure. Their impact is more significant than the influence of each of the three study factors separately, in particular, it is stronger than the only influence of temperature by 1.02, the only impact of precipitation by 2.58, and the only impact of atmospheric pressure by 2.72. The analytic mathematical model allows us to calculate, without significant material or time costs, populations of mouse-like rodents not only in the Kaluga Region, but also in regions with similar climate conditions.

Download Full-text

METHODOLOGICAL GUIDE ON DISINSECTION AND DISACARISATION IN THE CENTERS FOR INTRODUCTION AND REINTRODUCTION OF ANIMALS

Problems of Veterinary Sanitation, Hygiene and Ecology ◽

10.36871/vet.san.hyg.ecol.202103010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 303-308

Author(s):

P.I. Khristianovsky ◽

◽

I.S. Ponomareva ◽

D.A. Grudinin ◽

E.N. Kuzmina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Veterinary Medicine ◽

Parasitic Diseases ◽

Vector Borne Diseases ◽

Animal Diseases ◽

Blood Sucking ◽

Natural Foci ◽

Vector Borne ◽

The Russian Federation ◽

Scientific Station ◽

Academy Of Sciences

Introduction and reintroduction requires the movement of different groups of animals over considerable distances. In this case, there is a risk of the spread of infectious and parasitic diseases. The current veterinary rules and requirements contain instructions on measures for the import (movement) of zoo and circus animals, but there are no instructions on animals in protected areas. This paper proposes options for disinsection and disacarisation of various objects at the points of introduction and reintroduction of animals, based on the instructions approved by the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation. The work was carried out in connection with the need to develop recommendations to prevent the spread of infectious and invasive animal diseases, including anthropozoonoses, on the territory of the steppe scientific station of the Steppe Institute of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences «Orenburg Tarpania». One of the significant risks in the introduction of animals is the presence of natural foci of vector-borne diseases in the model area. To eliminate these risks, it is necessary to spray animals with insectoacaricides of the pyrethroid group when importing animals. At reintroduction points, carry out regular arachnoentomological monitoring of the area. With an increase in the number of blood-sucking arthropods, it is necessary to apply insectoacaricides by spraying biotopes. When a vector-borne disease appears, spray both biotopes and the animals themselves to break the epizootic chain.

Download Full-text

2. Transmission at different scales

Infectious Disease: A Very Short Introduction ◽

10.1093/actrade/9780199688937.003.0002 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 11-26

Author(s):

Marta L. Wayne ◽

Benjamin M. Bolker

Keyword(s):

Infectious Disease ◽

Mathematical Modelling ◽

Respiratory Viruses ◽

Key Factors ◽

Epidemic Dynamics ◽

Bodily Fluids ◽

Sexual Exchange ◽

Blood Sucking ◽

Vector Borne ◽

Water Borne

The term ‘transmission’ defines infectious disease. Respiratory viruses such as influenza are airborne; diseases such as HIV and hepatitis are transmitted through direct, usually sexual, exchange of bodily fluids; water-borne diseases such as cholera can survive in the environment; and vector-borne pathogens have evolved to use other organisms, especially blood-sucking insects and mites, to travel from one host to another. ‘Transmission at different scales’ considers the filters for encounter and compatibility, mathematical modelling of epidemic dynamics, and the key factors of virulence, resistance, and tolerance.

Download Full-text

iSeq 100 for metagenomic pathogen screening in ticks

Parasites & Vectors ◽

10.1186/s13071-021-04852-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ju Yeong Kim ◽

Myung-hee Yi ◽

Alghurabi Areej Sabri Mahdi ◽

Tai-Soon Yong

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

High Throughput Sequencing ◽

Sequence Similarity ◽

Haemaphysalis Longicornis ◽

Differential Abundance ◽

Control Programs ◽

Blood Sucking ◽

Pathogen Screening ◽

Vector Borne ◽

Differential Abundance Analysis

Abstract Background Ticks are blood-sucking ectoparasites that play a pivotal role in the transmission of various pathogens to humans and animals. In Korea, Haemaphysalis longicornis is the predominant tick species and is recognized as the vector of pathogens causing various diseases such as babesiosis, borreliosis, rickettsiosis, and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome. Methods In this study, the targeted high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA V4 region was performed using the state-of-the-art sequencing instrument, iSeq 100, to screen bacterial pathogens in H. longicornis, and the findings were compared with those using conventional PCR with specific primers. Microbiome analyses were performed with EzBioCloud, a commercially available ChunLab bioinformatics cloud platform. ANOVA-Like Differential Expression tool (ALDEx2) was used for differential abundance analysis. Results Rickettsia spp. were detected in 16 out of 37 samples using iSeq 100, and this was confirmed using a PCR assay. In the phylogenetic analysis using gltA and ompA sequences of the detected Rickettsia, the highest sequence similarity was found with ‘Candidatus Rickettsia jingxinensis’ isolate Xian-Hl-79, ‘Ca. R. jingxinensis’ isolate F18, and ‘Ca. R. longicornii‘ isolate ROK-HL727. In the microbiome study, Coxiella AB001519, a known tick symbiont, was detected in all 37 tick samples. Actinomycetospora chiangmaiensis was more abundant in Rickettsia-positive samples than in Rickettsia-negative samples. Conclusions In this study, iSeq 100 was used to investigate the microbiome of H. longicornis, and the potentially pathogenic Rickettsia strain was detected in 16 out of 37 ticks. We believe that this approach will aid in large-scale pathogen screening of arthropods to be used in vector-borne disease control programs. Graphical Abstract

Download Full-text

Kindling, Logs, and Coals: The Dynamics of Trypanosoma cruzi, the Etiological Agent of Chagas Disease in Arequipa, Peru

Population Biology of Vector-Borne Diseases ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198853244.003.0012 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 215-226

Author(s):

Michael Z. Levy

Keyword(s):

Trypanosoma Cruzi ◽

Salivary Glands ◽

Chagas Disease ◽

Etiologic Agent ◽

Etiological Agent ◽

Insect Vector ◽

Blood Sucking ◽

Vector Borne ◽

Triatomine Insects

The forces that lead to the emergence of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, are often distinct from those that maintain its transmission, and these are distinct again from those that allow the parasite to persist over decades. Just as kindling, logs, and coals all play discrete roles in the growth of a fire, a myriad of mammalian hosts contribute differently to epidemics of Trypanosoma. cruzi. Chagas disease affects millions of people in the Americas, and, through migration, thousands more on other continents. The agent of the disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, is a slender, highly-motile, unicellular parasite. T. cruzi does not migrate to the salivary glands of its insect vector–the blood-sucking triatomine insects–as many other vector-borne parasites do.

Download Full-text

Natural Products against Sand Fly Vectors of Leishmaniosis: A Systematic Review

Veterinary Sciences ◽

10.3390/vetsci8080150 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 150

Author(s):

Michela Pugliese ◽

Gabriella Gaglio ◽

Annamaria Passantino ◽

Emanuele Brianti ◽

Ettore Napoli

Keyword(s):

Sand Fly ◽

Botanical Insecticides ◽

Development Of Resistance ◽

Blood Sucking ◽

Short Period ◽

Leishmania Spp ◽

Vector Borne ◽

Fly Control ◽

Sand Fly Vectors

Leishmaniosis is a vector-borne disease transmitted to animals and humans by the bite of blood-sucking phlebotomine sand flies. These small insects play a crucial role in the diffusion of the disease. To date, the sole strategy recognized for the prevention of leishmaniosis is the use of topical repellent compounds against sand fly bites. Several synthetic insecticides and repellents have been developed; however, the wide and unprejudiced use of these formulations have led to the loss of their effectiveness and the development of resistance phenomena. Moreover, some of these synthetic repellents have severe detrimental effects on the environment and could represent a serious threat to both animal and human health. Recently, an increased interest in the research on alternative approaches to sand fly control has been expressed. In this study, we systematically reviewed the efforts of the scientific community to individuate a phytochemical alternative for the control of sand fly species recognized as vectors of Leishmania spp. Based on literature research using different electronic databases, a total of 527 potentially relevant studies were screened and narrowed down to a final 14 eligible scientific reports. Our analysis suggests that although there is a rapidly growing body of literature dedicated to botanical insecticides and repellents against sand fly vectors of Leishmania spp., much of this literature is limited to in vitro studies conducted in laboratory conditions, and only a few of them investigated the repellency of plant-based products. These studies highlighted that natural compounds display a really short period of action and this significantly limits the use of these products as an alternative to chemical-based repellents.

Download Full-text

Displaced tick-parasite interactions at the host interface

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s003118200008495x ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 116 (S1) ◽

pp. S65-S72 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

P. A. Nuttall

Keyword(s):

Blood Feeding ◽

Ixodid Ticks ◽

Vertebrate Host ◽

Feeding Site ◽

Reciprocal Interactions ◽

Arthropod Vectors ◽

Bioactive Proteins ◽

Blood Sucking ◽

Antiviral Activities ◽

Vector Borne

SummaryReciprocal interactions of parasites transmitted by blood-sucking arthropod vectors have been studied primarily at the parasite–host and parasite–vector interface. The third component of this parasite triangle, the vector–host interface, has been largely ignored. Now there is growing realization that reciprocal interactions between arthropod vectors and their vertebrate hosts play a pivotal role in the survival of arthropod-borne viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. The vector–host interface is the site where the haematophagous arthropod feeds. To obtain a blood meal, the vector must overcome the host's inflammatory, haemostatic, and immune responses. This problem is greatest for ixodid ticks which may imbibe as much as 15 ml blood whilst continuously attached to their host for 10 days or more. To feed successfully, the interface between tick and host becomes a battle between the host's mechanisms for combating the tick and the tick's armoury of bioactive proteins and other chemicals which it secretes, via saliva, into the feeding lesion formed in the host's skin. Parasites entering this battlefield encounter a privileged site in their vertebrate host that has been profoundly modified by the pharmacological activities of their vector's saliva. For example, ticks suppress natural killer cells and interferons, both of which have potent antiviral activities. Not surprisingly, vector-borne parasites exploit the immunomodulated feeding site to promote their transmission and infection. Certain tick-borne viruses are so successful at this that they are transmitted from one infected tick, through the vertebrate host to a co-feeding uninfected tick, without a detectable viraemia (virus circulating in the host's blood), and with no untoward effect on the host. When such viruses do have an adverse effect on the host, they may impede their vectors' feeding. Thus important interactions between ticks and tick-borne parasites are displaced to the interface with their vertebrate host - the skin site of blood-feeding and infection.

Download Full-text

Microbiomes of Blood-Feeding Arthropods: Genes Coding for Essential Nutrients and Relation to Vector Fitness and Pathogenic Infections. A Review

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9122433 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 2433

Author(s):

Daniel E. Sonenshine ◽

Philip E. Stewart

Keyword(s):

Normal Development ◽

Gene Families ◽

Enteric Bacteria ◽

Essential Amino Acids ◽

Blood Feeding ◽

Bacterial Symbionts ◽

Essential Nutrients ◽

Blood Sucking ◽

Host Growth ◽

Vector Borne

Background: Blood-feeding arthropods support a diverse array of symbiotic microbes, some of which facilitate host growth and development whereas others are detrimental to vector-borne pathogens. We found a common core constituency among the microbiota of 16 different arthropod blood-sucking disease vectors, including Bacillaceae, Rickettsiaceae, Anaplasmataceae, Sphingomonadaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Moraxellaceae and Staphylococcaceae. By comparing 21 genomes of common bacterial symbionts in blood-feeding vectors versus non-blooding insects, we found that certain enteric bacteria benefit their hosts by upregulating numerous genes coding for essential nutrients. Bacteria of blood-sucking vectors expressed significantly more genes (p < 0.001) coding for these essential nutrients than those of non-blooding insects. Moreover, compared to endosymbionts, the genomes of enteric bacteria also contained significantly more genes (p < 0.001) that code for the synthesis of essential amino acids and proteins that detoxify reactive oxygen species. In contrast, microbes in non-blood-feeding insects expressed few gene families coding for these nutrient categories. We also discuss specific midgut bacteria essential for the normal development of pathogens (e.g., Leishmania) versus others that were detrimental (e.g., bacterial toxins in mosquitoes lethal to Plasmodium spp.).

Download Full-text